Time
by gripsyched
Summary: "You don't have time for this / There will never be enough time for this"- HxM, oneshot on how Michiru awakens as Sailor Neptune. (a bit of an AU: twist to Sailor Moon S)


Time

Pairing: Haruka Tenou and Michiru Kaioh

AN: I really lovelovelove writing from Michiru's point of view :D This is like a Sailor Moon S AU thing, because Uranus seems to have teamed up with Sailor Moon and her gang while Neptune has yet to awaken.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my writing hahahahaha :D

Enjoy!

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You don't have time for this.

Really; your mornings are crammed with advanced lectures (on Quantum Physics- you _still_ don't know why you opted for it-, Sociology and Modern History) and _school_, leaving you with ten-minutes' worth of lunch (sandwich- with cucumbers, if you're lucky) just as you hop onto the subway to your studio. You juggle public relations with the fanatic, and frankly- weird boy at the counter and violin practices (sometimes you have visitors, and other times you have rehearsals).

At four-thirty sharp, you have to rush off for the art classes you've volunteered to host at a community centre. You reach by five, and are greeted by beaming faces. At six, you still have to pack up and answer any queries from a few blushing schoolgirls before you are allowed to leave for the local cram school. You pick up another sandwich on the way, and reach at six-fifty, just before the lesson starts. There, you are detained for another three hours before you manage to step out into the empty streets. Your apartment is a half-an-hour ride on the subway, and then homework chains you to the desk until twelve midnight.

And then, the dreams come sinking in. You forget about them- or you _try_ to do so. There's always a strange silence before the end of the world comes. Still, there is nothing to do about them- and instead you blame the weird nightmares on your latest compositions (though really, it's vice-versa).

(You don't complain. It would be quite rude if you were to do so. So instead, you smile and laugh and sink yourself in the swimming pool, enjoying the peace just before dawn- and hide it all inside.)

Your weekends are full of enrichment activities- so really, you think it's a little of an understatement to say that you _really don't have time for this._

The group of girls standing right in front of you, wearing weird adaptations of the sailor fuku, is being demanding. Somehow or rather, you have been caught up by a monster just after you left the cram school. It demanded that you show it your 'heart crystal', and so you ran. You ran, because you're sure that this is a hallucination- a side effect of being blessed with so many appointments. But it caught you soon enough and shot a beam of energy into you. You fell to the ground and blacked out.

When you awake, there is a strange girl with two ponytails shaking you. You realise that she is Sailor Moon (who, up till now, you thought was a mere gimmick invented by companies in order to get sales charts up and going). There is a strange mirror on your lap, with a weird planetary sign. You soon recognise that that is the Neptune planetary sign, and start to study it.

"You're Sailor Neptune! She has the Talisman! She has to be Sailor Neptune!" The strange Sailor Moon girl is yelling, in your face.

You shake your head. The name already sounds so iffy and childish. There is no way you are going to prance around in that short skirt, fighting demons. There is a murmur of consent among the rest of the Sailor Senshis. One of them lingers behind the rest, hands gripping tightly on a sword.

"Uranus! Look! It has to be her! The talisman… you must help us and save the world from the Silence and destruction! We need to save Saturn-" the blonde girl is yammering, and it is giving you a headache.

You pause for a moment, taking in what she said. Chuckling, you finally understand what the dreams were talking about. After a moment of amusement, it hits you that _she_, a stranger, wants you to defend the world with her.

"It can't be her." The tall and lanky figure mutters. "Not Neptune."

Her voice makes you shiver. Somehow, her denial makes you feel a tinge of… loneliness and grief. There is something about her (clad in the same silly uniform) that makes you sigh wistfully. You feel as though as you know her, but you are sure that you don't.

"No," you confirm, albeit breathlessly. "I'm not whatever you want me to be."

They glance at the mirror in your hand, accusingly.

"For one- if I can remember correctly- you need to transform into a soldier. I haven't been able to transform- no." You pause. "So no, I'm not who you're looking for. I'm sorry."

"But…"

"And even so, I don't have the time to do something as silly as saving the world."

"No- look, you're-"

You shake your head, cutting her off. "I don't have time. You don't even know me. What makes you so certain that _I_ am the one you're looking for. It's simply ridiculous. I'm only Kaiou Michiru, an aspiring violinist and painter. I don't have the time to do something as silly as saving the world. Do it yourself."

You realise that you sound rather obnoxious, but you don't really care.

"Strange, that's what Uranus said when we told her…" the blonde girl is muttering.

You chuckle. Great minds think alike. Perhaps that lean figure is Uranus… You wouldn't mind running with her (even if it meant donning a stupid and impractical costume that didn't look like it was made for battle). Not really.

"But you've already transformed." The blonde girl remarks, gesturing to you.

You look down, and see that your long skirt has been shortened by a few inches- and you're wearing the same fancy ribbon on your chest like all of them. This is impossible. There has to be some kind of mistake. You don't have time for this. You falter for a bit, before struggling to stand up. You hold onto the mirror defensively, and shake your head.

"No. This is a mistake," you say, trying to keep your voice calm and steady. "I need to- I need to calm down. It's all a bad dream, all a bad dream."

You ignore their incredulous looks and try to escape. Alas, what with the sudden panicking and the damned heels, you find yourself stumbling. Before you can land yourself headfirst into the road, an arm catches you. Whirling yourself around, you find yourself staring into an intense pair of eyes.

"Neptune…"

You laugh- and pause- as the memories from (what you can only assume to be) your past life come flooding back to you. Uranus and Neptune. Uranus and Neptune…

"Uranus," you mutter, and giggle, nodding as you chant the name. "Uranus, Uranus, Uranus-!"

There will never be enough time for this.

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Reviews are greatly appreciated!


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